Roman wasn't Built in a Day
by Wolffury
Summary: A short story about how Roman Torchwick came to be a notorious crime lord, and why he's constantly at odds with Ruby Rose. A look at Roman's lines from Vol. 3 Ep. 11, and my theory of the implied history behind them.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, dogs and cats, dragons of all ages. And welcome to my first RWBY fanfic! With Volume 3 over but the hype still in my veins I decided to do a one-shot of one of my new favorite villains, Roman Torchwick. Yes, I am calling this a one-shot since chapter two is essentially just a post credits scene. I basically kept thinking and it seemed like every line Torchwick had in episode 10 could have more meaning to it. So this is my best guess as to what the "history" behind these lines is.**_

 _ **So I hope you all enjoy!**_

 _ **This also may not be the final product, I might shorten it seeing as I'm not sure if I**_

* * *

 **Roman wasn't Built in a Day**

* * *

" _Little Red, Little Red, you are just determined to be the hero of Vale, aren't you?"_

* * *

A ten year old boy with orange hair and green eyes sat at a table by the second story window as the rain pelted the glass. Outside he could see the yellow lights from their neighbors illuminating the dark cobblestone street as the storm clouds kept the sun cut off from the world below. He had finished his chores early so he wouldn't have anything distracting him when his father came home. He still remembered the fateful day the huntsman had rescued him from his abusive former parents. From then on he wanted to grow up and be like the huntsman, a hero.

His patience was rewarded as he saw the cloaked figure turn around the corner and onto their street. He got down from the table and made his way downstairs; failing to notice the group of dark figures that soon followed the cloaked huntsman. As he made his way down the stairs, the walls of the building blocked the words being spoken outside. He got to the door and threw it open just in time to see a man dressed in a black suit and carrying a cane stab his adopted father.

Frozen by shock, he watched as the men dressed in black walked back down the street, leaving the injured huntsman to fall down and bleed out. The child ran to the cloaked huntsman's body. He cried as the dying huntsman told him to be strong and not give up hope. The huntsman then breathed his last.

* * *

" _You're asking the wrong questions, Red! It's not what I have to gain, it's that I can't afford to lose!"_

* * *

The redhead fell to the ground as the bigger man leered down at him. The thirteen year old boy had failed at picking his pocket. Now he was suffering the consequences of trying to steal from a gang leader. It wasn't like he had had much choice though. Living on the streets, everyday was a fight to survive. He had considered himself lucky, but apparently his luck just ran out.

As the man taunted at him, the redhead struggled to his knees. As his vision came back into focus, he spotted a glass bottle lying next to his hand. He felt a large hand grab his shoulder and begin to pull him up. He grasped at the bottle and managed to grab it by the neck. As the gangster spun him around, the redhead used the added momentum to swing the bottle into the larger man's head. The bottle broke and the gang leader reeled back as blood began to drip from his head. Overcome by desperation and anger, the redhead charged the man and started stabbing him with the broken bottle.

After three strikes the gang leader fell down dead. The redhead discarded the blood covered glass and began rummaging through the gangster's pockets. He pulled out a wallet and took the gold watch off his wrist. He turned to leave but saw a couple of bystanders staring at him with their hands over their mouths. The redhead looked at the dead gangster lying next to him. When he turned back he saw the bystanders running away, and a few minutes later he could hear the sound of sirens echo through the streets.

* * *

" _I may be a gambling man, but I know that there are some bets you just don't take."_

* * *

The redhead stood across the street from the gang's warehouse. After four years he finally tracked down the men who killed his adopted father. He walked to the warehouse and snuck around to try and peek through the window. He looked through the cracked glass and saw the gangsters standing around their leader as he inspected a crate of weapons. Just as he was about to go find a way inside, someone grabbed him and slammed him into the wall of the warehouse.

* * *

" _Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world! You can't stop 'em, I can't stop 'em!"_

* * *

The fourteen year old boy stood in the center of the ring of gangsters, their leader standing in front of him. The gang leader eyed him up and down, trying to figure out what this kid would want with his warehouse. Something struck him as familiar about the boy though. Then it clicked in his head, this was the same kid that had been at the house when he killed that huntsman. If that was the case, then he liked the kid's resolve.

"We both know that you're not getting out of this alive if you try something kid. I like your spirit though, so how 'bout I give you an offer. You can join us and live or you can try what you came here for, and fail miserably."

The redhead took a moment to think this offer over. He had waited so long for this chance, but he didn't want this to be the end of him. He kept a skeptical eye on the gang leader as he twirled his cane.

"So kid," he said putting his hand out to shake. "What's your name?"

The redhead put his hand out and shook the leader's hand.

"Roman Torchwick."

* * *

" _You know the old saying, if you can't beat 'em-"_

* * *

Torchwick stood on a cliff with the other new Beacon students while Ozpin gave his speech. Now he sported a white jacket with black gloves, pants, and shoes. His hair was combed over to the side to keep it out of his eyes. As he listened he thought of the circumstances that led him there, glancing down at the cane in his hand as he did so. To think that year ago the cane once belonged to the man who killed his adopted father. He, of course, had made some personal modifications to it.

With his revenge complete, he could now put the emptiness and sadness behind him and move towards his original goal. Plus, now that he had been accepted to Beacon, he could become a hunter. He could become a hero.

* * *

" _You got spirit, Red."_

* * *

In the lobby of a Mountain Glenn hotel, Melanie, Ellie, and Oswald (three members of Team ROME) sat in the lounge area while waiting for their leader. They were meant to be patrolling the city perimeter in an hour. They had already graduated, but had grown so close that they opted to stick together for these types of missions.

"Hello guys!" Roman shouted cheerfully as he walked into the lounge area. "You guys ready to go hunt some Grimm?"

He looked around at the teammates he had come to love. Melanie Maroon was a short girl with her black hair braided over her shoulder, hazel eyes, and pale skin. Her outfit consisted of a red knee length dress with black lace around the edges, black leggings, red and black high-heeled boots, and a black derby hat with a red ribbon. Her weapon was a buzz saw that could turn into a Tommy gun. She along with Roman were the more cheerful members of their team. Melanie always did what she could to cheer everyone up.

Then there was Ellie O'Connell, a petite blonde girl with wavy shoulder length hair, violet eyes, and lightly tanned skin. She wore a white and grey jacket over a black shirt, grey jeans with black shoes, and a pair of aviator goggles on her head with a grey scarf around her neck. Her weapons were a pair of 9mm tonfa pistols, and a backpack full of explosives. She acted as the team's mechanic/science nerd, who was also a pyromaniac in the making.

Last but not least was Norman Gustav. He was the tall and silent member of the team with a shaved head and pale skin. He wore all black under a dark brown trenchcoat with a brown three point hat. His weapon was an electric flail that turned into a plasma rifle.

* * *

" _But this is the real world!"_

* * *

The city's wall had been breached. Grimm were flooding the city and every hunter and huntress was rushing to try and stop them. Team ROME flew to the breach zone expecting the worst, but even then they weren't prepared for what they saw. Roman saw the warzone and saw the broken bodies of huntsmen strew across the ground around the breach. The uneasiness grew in his gut until Melanie put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her and gave her a nod. As long as his friends were with him, everything would be alright.

* * *

" _The real world is COLD!"_

* * *

The three members of Team ROME rushed to the site of the explosion to fight the oncoming Grimm forces, running to the top of a building to get a vantage point over the Grimm. Roman looked down at the site of the breach and was frozen in shock. If the breach above ground several weeks ago was a warzone, then this was a massacre. Bodies and blood covered the ground to the point he couldn't even see the rock floor.

"Roman!" Melanie yelled to snap him out of it. "C'mon we need to hold them off until Atlas can get all the civilians out!"

"There's no point," said a voice from behind them. All three of them turned to see Oswald standing with his weapon drawn. "Everything will be consumed by the Grimm."

* * *

" _The real world, doesn't care about_ **spirit!** _"_

* * *

Torchwick watched in horror as Oswald cut down both Ellie and Melanie before his eyes. Rage consumed him as he raised his Melodic Cudgel at his now former friend and fired. The red flare hit Oswald in the gut and knocked him on his back. Roman walked over to Oswald's barely alive body and aimed the end of his can at his head.

"Why, Oswald? We were your friends!"

*cough* "There are stronger forces than either of us at work. If you think that the huntsmen can protect Remnant, then just look down below. If you ever meet her, then you'll understand. The current order is flawed, and there is nothing they can do to stop the change." With that Oswald breathed his last. It was then that Roman noticed the faint coughing coming from his left.

* * *

" _You want to be a hero? Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history!"_

* * *

"R-Roman." Torchwick kneeled down next to Melanie's body as tears began to fill his eyes.

"Melanie, stay with me. I-I can get you to-to…"

Melanie gave a light chuckle, and raised her hand to touch his cheek.

"Just leave us. You need to go. Stay strong Roman, _and survive_."

As Melanie's life left her, her hand fell from Roman's cheek and hit the ground. Roman was on the verge of breaking down and crying, but to respect his friend's last wish he pulled himself back together. The crying could come later.

He laid Melanie and Ellie on their backs with their hands crossed over their harts. As token's to remember them, he took Ellie's scarf and Melanie's hat, adding them to his own attire.

* * *

 _As for me, I'll do what I do best: Lie…"_

* * *

Roman ran through the streets of the fallen city and to the subway system. He pushed and shoved his way through the crowds as everyone tried to escape the city. As he approached the subway he could see the crowd bunching up as Atlas guards monitored everyone so that the trains didn't get overloaded.

He was then shoved into the side of a building. Just as he was about to push his way back into the crowd, the window next to him shattered. He looked through to see two men holding down a teenage girl with pink, brown, and white hair.

He used his cane to clear out the rest of the glass before jumping through the window. Coming up behind the two men, he swung his cane and whacked one of them in the head. The other stood up to face Torchwick but a few powerful strikes soon put him out of commission.

With the two scumbags down for the count, he turned to look at the girl with tri-colored hair. She looked to be only a few years younger than him. She looked up at him with mismatched eyes, unsure if she should trust him or not. Roman kindly held out his hand to help her up. She reluctantly took it and followed him out of the building.

Roman held onto the girl's hand as they made their way through the crowd. The Grimm were closing in, and thus the crowd began to panic. The Atlas troops were holding them back though. Roman approached one of the checkpoints as they were beginning to close the gates.

"Hey we need to get through!"

"Sorry but the train is full we can't allow anyone else onboard." The guard told him.

"Look buddy, I'm a huntsman, and I am on a special mission. So we **need** to get on that train."

"Huntsman? Shouldn't you be fighting the Grimm then? Besides even if you do have a mission, who's that girl?"

"She _is_ my mission. This is the daughter of Mistral Councilman Drewmont."

The soldier looked at the girl skeptically. "I'm going to have to check this."

Just then an explosion could be heard in the distance behind them.

"We don't have time! Are you going to let us in, or are you going to let a Mistral Official's daughter die?"

Taking a second to weigh his options, the guard nodded to the gate keepers. The gate opened just enough for Roman and the girl to slip through before closing. Torchwick let the girl climb on the train first. Just as he was about to get inside, the train jerked forward and nearly caused him to fall off. He looked back in time to see the gates fall and the crowd rush into the tunnels.

Five minutes later he had joined back up with the girl and they were standing at the back of the train. The sound of an explosion shook the tunnel and the train tremble as the rock ceiling began to fall on top of them. Roman started to think that this would be the end, and then the girl with strange hair grabbed his arm.

There was a bright flash and Roman found himself standing next to girl in the middle of the subway tunnel. There was the sound of metal scraping against metal coming from behind him, and he turned around to see the subway train grinding to a halt. The rocks continued to fall from the ceiling as the train caught on fire. Roman couldn't believe what he just saw.

They had just sealed off the city, and all the people still inside.

From that day on, Roman Torchwick was done being a huntsman. Huntsmen were astonishing warriors, but they were still human, and humans were easily killed. The Grimm were endless, when one falls another takes his place. To fight for the Grimm's extinction was pointless.

He discarded his dream of being a hero that day. Now he lived with one purpose. _To survive_.

* * *

" _Steal…"_

* * *

Roman and Neo walked out the backdoor of the bank, each with a sack of money over their shoulder. Roman had big plans for this city, and this was only the first of many robberies ahead of him. He was done being a game piece. He was going to dictate his own destiny now. They stole from him, so he was going to steal back.

* * *

" _Cheat…"_

* * *

Roman walked onto the docks with a suitcase in hand. His orange hair now combed down to cover his right eye. At the other end of the docks was the group of thugs that had helped him with his last heist. He walked up to their leader and handed him the case. He began to leave but didn't make it more than a few steps before the thugs called out in anger.

"Is something that matter boys?" he asked inquisitively.

"I'll say, the amount in this case is only half of what you promised us!"

"Well, I don't like paying more than what something is worth, and you goons weren't worth full price."

"You think you can cheat us," the thug's leader said as he pulled out a switchblade. He rushed towards Torchwick but there was a blur of pink and brown as a clean cut appeared across the thug's neck, blood beginning to gush from the wound. The narrow blade receded into the pink umbrella as Neopolitan swung it up and rested it on her shoulder. Placing on hand on her hip, Neo smirked at the thugs, daring them to try something.

"Well, if there are no further objections, come along Neo."

* * *

"… _and survive!"_

* * *

Roman and Neo walked down the dark alley streets of Vale. Roman with a cigar in his mouth and Neo with an ice cream cone that was the flavor she was named after. The two had decided that tonight would be a good night to talk a leisurely stroll and possibly scope out their next heist. Their walk would have to wait though as a woman in a red dress with gold detailing stepped out of the shadows.

Noticing that the woman was intentionally blocking them, Torchwick and Neo stopped.

"Well, hello beautiful." Torchwick began, "What brings a lady like yourself to this part of town."

"You do Roman," the woman replied in an attractive voice.

"Well I know I've never met you before soo... I robbed a franchise of yours I take it?"

"No. I have a plan and I need your skills a resources to make it happen."

"A heist of some kind?"

"You could say that."

Roman was starting to get suspicious. He didn't like how indirect this conversation was. "What are you planning to steal?"

"Humanity's trust in each other." She replied quite simply. Roman didn't know what she had in mind, but this sounded like something he didn't want to be a part of.

"Sorry honey, but I prefer to deal in things that will make me a profit."

"How about keeping your life?"

"Haha, and what makes you think you can threaten me?"

"Do you remember Mountain Glenn?"

Torchwick's eyes widened as he recalled the events of that tragedy. If what she was implying was true, than she was responsible for it. He narrowed his eyes at her and took the cigar out of his mouth.

"I'm listening."

* * *

 _ **So there it is. This might not be the "final product" because I'm not sure if the beginning half is necessary or not. This is the first time I've done project in this sort of montage format. So please leave a review letting me know what I got right and what I did wrong, as well as what you thought of the story in general.**_


	2. PCS

**P.C.S. (Post credits scene)**

* * *

 _"I don't care what you say. We will stop them, and I will stop you._  
 _ **BET ON THAT!** "_

* * *

Ruby, Nora, Juane, and Ren (or team RNJR as Nora had dubbed them) had been on their way to Haven fighting Grimm along the way. They Now being attacked by a small herd of about nine Ursai. Ren and Nora had each been able to take out two of them. Ruby had cut down three of the large black bear-like creatures, and Juane had only taken down one. Ren and Nora went to help Juane fight the last of the Ursai, failing to notice the distance between them and Ruby.

Ruby was about to go help her friends when she heard a branch snap behind her. She turned around just in time to see a large clawed paw swinging towards her. The alpha Ursai knocked Ruby through the air and into the trunk of a snow covered tree. The large black bear-like creature towered over her and let out a mighty roar. Ruby struggled to stand up, the days of constant fighting had begun to take their toll. She was exhausted but she raised Crescent Rose for battle none the less.

The Alpha Ursai raised one large paw in the air to strike, when a distinct noise whistled through the air. A white flare hit the Ursai in the face and exploded into smoke. The Ursai reeled back as its eyes burns from the blast. Ruby then saw a pink, white, and brown figure jump onto the Ursai's back. A blade came out the end of a familiar pink parasole and stabbed the Grimm in the neck. Ruby watched, mostly in confusion, while Neopolitan then went about slashing the beast as more flares were shot at it.

Having noticed Ruby's predicament, the three remaining members of JNPR rushed to her side just as the alpha fell down dead. As the creature crashed into the ground, Neo gracefully cartwheeled off it's back and back flipped until she was standing beside her boss, opening her parasole and resting it on her shoulder as she came to a stop. Ruby and her friends got their weapons ready, recognizing the man in the white coat, derby hat, and sporting the familiar cane.

Ruby angrily said the man's name, "Torchwick."

Roman smiled at the red and black clad girl who had become something of an arch nemesis of his. "Hello Red. A while ago you told me to bet on you and your friends stopping Cinder. So tell me, is it too late to take that bet?"


End file.
